


My Only Friend's A Heathen (Stay Away From Her)

by NicoAndTheNineGalaxies



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: (i definitely do), (read: a lot crazy), (she's fun to write), Like, M/M, Prison AU, a LOT of crimes, also, casually very dark, for those of you that have read Why Do They Want Us Dead?, he's too perfect help, i wasn't sure whether to put a warning but i decided better safe than sorry, i'm obsessed with ryan ross, if you miss ruthie, inspired by the heathens music video, it took them like a year or two to get caught, now they're in prison together for life, ruthie and tyler committed crimes together, ruthie is a little bit crazy, some violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-09-12
Packaged: 2019-06-12 19:05:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15346548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NicoAndTheNineGalaxies/pseuds/NicoAndTheNineGalaxies
Summary: Ruthie had told him her plans, and he’d kept them secret.  She’d told him what she needed, and he’d retrieved it. She’d done the actual killing, but Tyler had helped her.And then Ruthie had asked for his help in another crime.And then another.Tyler knew that what they were doing was wrong, but the adrenaline...the feeling of knowing you could be caught...well, it was like nothing he’d ever felt before.So they continued.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just so you know, this is completely unrelated to Why Do They Want Us Dead? - it's just different versions of the same characters. Also, if topics like murder, arson, robberies, or physical fighting bother you, maybe this isn't the best thing to read.  
> This is kind of dark. Also, I don't know how prisons work, having never been in a prison myself, so I hope this is close enough.  
> Galaxy ||-//

Two men watched as a new prisoner was led in by the guards.

They caught a glimpse of the side of her face, of her pale, unblemished skin, lips pursed in a defeated pout, and, strangest of all, her wide gray-blue eyes, giving her an innocent appearance.  She had an agonizingly bony frame that implied she rarely ate, or when she did she ate very little, and her cheekbones stood out prominently on her thin face.

She was not beaten or bruised or scarred like many of the other inmates, and she stood out like a rose in a garden of daisies, despite the fact that she was wearing the same orange jumpsuit as everyone else.

One man, with a scar etched over the right side of his mouth, turned to the other.

“What’s  _ she _ doing here?” He asked, not as malicious as he was condescending.  “She doesn’t look dangerous.”

The girl raised an eyebrow, spinning around to face the men, her lips stretching into a wide, unnerving smile, one eye hidden by her long, caramel-colored hair.  The eye that they could see, however, had a strange glint in it, one that neither man could quite decipher.

“What was that, boys?” She asked, her voice unbalanced, rising and falling in a way that made her sound insane.

The second man, without any scars, took a step back, but the first man looked her straight in the eye with a flirtatious smirk.

“S’nothing, doll.  Just wondering what a pretty face like yours is doing in a dark place like this.”

And the girl burst out laughing, her laugh just as unbalanced as her voice.

“Oh, that’s funny,” she said, still giggling, as she wiped tears of laughter from her eyes.  “That’s really, really  _ funny.” _

Her expression turned cold and deadly as she spat the last word like it was venom.

“You don’t think I’m dangerous enough for this place?” The girl asked, her voice impossibly soft, to the point that the man had to strain to hear her.  Somehow, even this quiet, there was a power in her tone. “I’ll show you who’s in charge here,” she whispered. “I’ll show you  _ dangerous.” _

Before the man could process what was happening, she had punched him in the dead center of his face with a sickening  _ crunch. _  His hands flew to his nose, coming away slick and red, and both men stared after her in shock as she was led away by the guards.

For someone that put up such a fight, they were surprised to see her go so willingly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tyler was sitting in his cell when he saw Ruthie being led down the hall by the guards.

She perked up immediately when she spotted him, and Tyler couldn’t help but smile as she nudged one of the guards and gestured towards him.  “Look, look! That’s my best friend! He’s the guy I got thrown in here with! Tyler!”

“Hey, Ruthie,” Tyler said with another small grin.

Sure, she was crazy, manipulative, violent, and probably a sociopath, but she’d been his best friend for the past two years, and now they were both in prison together, so Tyler figured he might as well make an effort to stay friends with her.  Although, their friendship was the reason he was here in the first place…

 

Ruthie had told him her plans, and he’d kept them secret.  She’d told him what she needed, and he’d retrieved it. She’d done the actual killing, but Tyler had helped her.

And then Ruthie had asked for his help in another crime.

And then another.

Tyler knew that what they were doing was wrong, but the adrenaline...the feeling of knowing you could be caught...well, it was like nothing he’d ever felt before.

So they continued.

A murder here, some arson there, robberies scattered in between...Tyler quickly learned that Ruthie wasn’t picky.  A bit of motivation was all she needed, and usually her constant boredom was motivation enough. She’d confessed to him once, as he helped her clean the blood from her latest victim off of her clothes, that she enjoyed channeling her manipulative tendencies into something with a lasting effect.

By the time they were finally apprehended, they’d both taken part in many serious crimes - enough for life sentences for both of them.

 

He was shaken back to the present by his cellmate, Josh, who’d already been there when Tyler had arrived.

“Who was that?”

“That was Ruthie, my best friend.  She killed a few people, committed arson a few times, robbed some stores and banks and stuff, and I helped her.  That’s why I’m here,” Tyler explained.

“Hi, Tyler!” Ruthie’s voice called from the other side of the wall that separated their cells.

“Hello,” Tyler said.  “Enjoying your stay so far?”

He could hear the smile in her voice as she replied.  “Oh, it’s wonderful. Someone told me I was too pretty to be here, so I punched him.”

Tyler chuckled, and Josh raised an eyebrow.

“She’s always like this,” Tyler murmured to him before raising his voice to talk to Ruthie again.  “So I guess your cell is right next to mine?”

She giggled.  “Yep! Have you got a cellmate?”

“Some guy named Josh,” Tyler replied.

There was a pause.

Ruthie was the first to break it.

“I’ve got an entire cell  _ all  _ to myself,” she said, drawing out the  _ all. _  “I have a feeling this could really be fun.”

‘Fun’ was not a word Tyler would apply to a lifelong prison sentence, but he had a feeling Ruthie would assert herself as a kind of leader amongst their fellow prisoners before long.

“It’s probably just because they were worried you’d kill your cellmate,” Tyler pointed out reasonably.

“Hmm, yeah,” Ruthie agreed.  “Anyway, I’m certainly exhausted.  We’ve had a stressful few days, haven’t we?”

Tyler thought back to their capture and their trial.  “Definitely. Get some sleep, okay?”

“No promises,” Ruthie said in a sing-song voice, the same one that always made all the hair on Tyler’s body stand on end.  “Anyway, have fun!”

There it was again.  ‘Fun.’

Tyler had known what he was agreeing to when he decided to help Ruthie, and he didn’t regret it.

How bad could a life sentence be, anyway?


	2. Chapter 2

The whispers following Ruthie when she left her cell the next morning didn’t unnerve her like they used to.  They just filled her with excitement.

They were talking about her.  They knew who she was. They knew she was in charge.

So she smiled.

Tyler was sitting in the cafeteria, picking at his breakfast.  Ruthie slid into the seat across from him and grinned. “Morning.”

Tyler glanced up and offered her an uneasy smile, glancing nervously at the man sitting a few seats away, glaring at them viciously - it was the same man Ruthie had punched the night before.

Ruthie sighed, exasperated, and turned to him.  “Hi, friend!” She chirped, faking a sympathetic pout when his scowl grew deeper.  “How’s your nose?”

“Broken,” the man muttered.  “Thanks to you.”

“Aw,” Ruthie cooed.  “That must be terrible.  I’m not sorry at all.”

The man’s face contorted with outrage.  “What? I called you pretty so you punched me in the face - is that supposed to be logical?”

Ruthie widened her eyes as innocently as she could.  “Who ever said anything about logic? I’m not just a pretty face,  _ doll,” _ she said, spitting the man’s words from the day before back at him.  “Unless you’d like a black eye to match your broken nose.”

“They wouldn’t really  _ match - “ _ the man began, but broke off when Ruthie smiled threateningly, the kind of smile you would normally associate with a deranged killer stroking a knife.

“Sorry,” he muttered after a moment.  “My name’s Brendon. Who’re you?”

“Ruthie Williams,” she said, offering Brendon a real smile this time.  “It’s certainly, ah -  _ interesting _ to meet you.  And who’s your friend?”

The man sitting across from Brendon, who was slightly taller but looked far less threatening, looked up from his meal.  “Uh, I’m Ryan.”

“What do  _ you _ think of me so far, Ryan?” Ruthie asked sweetly.

“If you hadn’t punched Brendon, I probably would have,” Ryan muttered, glancing at Brendon’s offended expression with a quick smirk before turning his attention back to his food.

Ruthie burst out laughing.  “Oh, I like this one,” she said to Tyler, poking Ryan.

“You wouldn’t punch me,” Brendon scoffed after a few moments.  “You love me.”

Ryan pursed his lips.  “Mm, debatable.”

Tyler turned to Ruthie, one eyebrow raised skeptically.  “You punched that guy in the face yesterday and now you’re making friends with him?”

Ruthie held his gaze evenly for a few moments.  “Well...yeah.”

“Isn’t that a little weird?”

Ruthie grinned.  “Have you met me?”

Tyler glanced around the room at all the other criminals, everyone dressed in the same orange jumpsuits, many of their faces wearing the same two alternating expressions - threatening sneers and downtrodden frowns.  “You belong here,” he muttered, standing quickly. “I don’t.”

After he’d left, Brendon turned to Ruthie.  “What’s his problem?”

Ruthie shrugged.  “I’m not sure. He has about as much reason to be here as the rest of us.  Why are you here?”

“Uh, mostly selling drugs and stuff, a little bit of arson.  I roped Ryan into some of it,” he added with a slightly guilty glance at Ryan.  “I know I’ve said it a lot before, but I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s fine, I probably would’ve ended up here anyway, just with a shorter sentence,” Ryan said with a shrug.  “You know, grand larceny or whatever.”

“Too bad you got caught,” Ruthie said, shaking her head disapprovingly.  “I could give you some tips for when you get out of here, if you want.”

Brendon cleared his throat.  “Isn’t the point of all this,” he said, gesturing around them vaguely, “to make us see the error of our ways?”

Ruthie laughed.  “Oh, sweetie, that’s adorable.  First of all, I’m in here for life.  I have no reason to see the ‘error of my ways.’  And second of all, I did everything for a good reason.  There was this guy who broke into my house, so I just set him on fire.”

Ryan’s eyes widened, and he practically choked on his food.  “What?”

“Yeah.  He had it coming.”

“What else did you do?” Brendon asked, seeming shocked, slightly frightened, and a little bit curious at the same time.

“Hmm, let’s see...oh!  There was the girl that stole my datemate, so Tyler helped me make a plan to steal everything of value from her house and then set  _ that _ on fire, and then there was also this guy that told me I was full of myself, so I shot him.”

“You aren’t picky with your victims,” Ryan observed numbly.

“No, not really,” Ruthie said.

“Remind me not to offend you,” Brendon muttered.  “Anyway, Ryan, I’m going to go.”

“Okay.  I’ll see you later,” Ryan said, standing up to press a kiss to Brendon’s lips across the table before he left.

“Aw, cute,” Ruthie cooed.  “Most of the people I’ve dated say I’m ‘crazy.’  I wonder where they get that idea?”

“Yeah, I wonder,” Ryan said sarcastically.  “You do seem a little crazy.”

“I wouldn’t even be in here if Tyler had remembered the gloves,” Ruthie muttered.  “Seriously, it was so simple. We were going to break into this idiot’s house and stage his, uh, ‘suicide’ - meaning we were going to kill him, obviously - but Tyler forgot to bring gloves so we wouldn’t leave fingerprints or handprints, and we couldn’t put it off any longer - scheduling is vital to committing a crime, you know - and we ended up getting caught.”  She shrugged, nonchalant. “Well, what else can they do to me now? I’m in prison for life, it can’t get much worse than this.”

Ryan raised an eyebrow.  “So you think now that you’re in prison, they can’t punish you any worse?”

“Oh, sweetie, everything they do now is temporary.  None of it’ll make me miserable for longer than a week at most.”

“Wait, you actually have feelings?” Ryan asked.  “I thought you were just really good at acting. It would explain the mood swings.”

“Oh, no,” Ruthie laughed.  “I mean, yes, I’m a fantastic actress, but the mood swings are totally natural.”

Ryan shook his head, brow furrowed in confusion.  “What even  _ are _ you?”

“Am I making you nervous?” Ruthie asked with a smirk.

“Kind of,” Ryan admitted.

Ruthie rolled her eyes.  “You’re in here with an arsonist and a drug dealer who happens to be your boyfriend, but  _ I _ make you nervous.  Sure.”

“Well, Brendon isn’t absolutely insane,” Ryan pointed out.  “Also, you’re an arsonist, a thief, and a murderer, so arguably you’re worse.”

Ruthie grinned.  “Aww, thank you. Anyway, I should probably go check on Tyler, he seemed a bit upset.  Have fun with...whatever you do for fun.”

“I’d say ‘you, too,’ but I get the feeling that what you do for fun would probably break a couple laws and kill at least one person.”

Ruthie pursed her lips for a moment, thinking, and then smiled brightly.  “Yep, that sounds about right. Bye, Ryan!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be honest here...
> 
> I'm fricking obsessed with Ryan Ross.
> 
> Sorry. He's just perfect.
> 
> Galaxy ||-//


	3. Chapter 3

Tyler laid on his bed, staring up at the stone ceiling.  Josh was sitting on his own bed, studying Tyler carefully.

“What’s up?” he asked.  “You seem upset.”

Tyler just shrugged, which was kind of difficult to do while lying down.  “Do you ever feel like you’re out of place?”

“What, here?  Yeah, all the time,” Josh said with a slight laugh.  “I mean, I’m here for murder. But, I mean, I didn’t plan it or anything.  I didn’t really want to kill anyone. It just kind of...happened? That’s not an excuse, though,” he added quickly.  “It’s just weird to see, like, Ruthie, who wanted to hurt people and do all that stuff, and then there’s me, just a cell away.  I never meant to hurt anyone, much less  _ kill _ someone.  But Ruthie?”  Josh chuckled, but there was no real amusement behind it.  “She’s absolutely crazy.”

Tyler nodded.  “Yeah. I helped her out a lot, so I ended up here.  But she was my friend, you know? She made what she was doing seem so logical...she’s always been great with words.  I’m not saying I’m the victim here, but I just don’t think I’d be here if I’d tried to stop her instead.”

_ “Okay, _ feelings hour is over!”

Tyler jumped when he heard Ruthie’s sudden shout.  His gaze flicked to the door of his cell. “Oh! H-hi.”

Had she heard what he’d said?

“Who were you even talking to?” Ruthie asked, her brow furrowing.

“I was talking to J - “ Tyler broke off when he realized that Josh was gone.  “Oh. Uh, he was just here.”

“Your cellmate?” Ruthie asked suspiciously.  “Josh?”

“Yeah, him,” Tyler confirmed.  “I guess he left. I must’ve been thinking too much to notice.”

“Okay,” Ruthie said with a shrug.  “What’s he like?”

“He’s pretty cool,” Tyler said with a smile.  “He said his hair was blue once, but I guess it faded.”

“Blue?”  Ruthie’s eyes widened.  “Tyler, are you - are you sure he said blue?”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Tyler said, nodding slowly.  “Ruthie, what are you saying?”

“Oh.  You don’t remember.”  Her frown deepened. “Well, I’m not going to tell you.”

“You’re not going to tell me what?” Tyler asked.

“It would only upset you,” Ruthie said.  “Look, Tyler, just don’t ask about it. I might be insane, but you’re my best friend.  I’m not going to tell you.”

“Ruthie, wait!” Tyler called after her as she left.

But she didn’t look back.

“What was that about?”

Josh’s voice in Tyler’s ear startled him.  “I thought you’d left!”

“No…” Josh’s brow furrowed in confusion.  “I was here the whole time. I guess Ruthie just didn’t see me.”

“I didn’t see you, either,” Tyler said.  “Well, anyway, I think Ruthie is hiding something.”

“Seems like it,” Josh agreed.  “Do you want to ask her about it?”

Tyler hesitated for a moment.  “I don’t know, Josh...she didn’t want to say anything, so I don’t want to force her.”

Josh stared at him for a moment, his mouth falling open slightly.  “Tyler, she manipulated you into helping her commit  _ serious crimes. _  Now she’s hiding something from you and you don’t want to force her to tell you about it?”

Tyler sighed.  “Look, I appreciate your - your concern, or whatever, but I just don’t want to stoop to her level or something.”

Josh snorted.  “You’ve helped her kill people.  You’re already at her level.”

Tyler recoiled, shocked and slightly offended.  “Says the man who murdered someone all on his own!  You’re such a hypocrite!”

“I’m just saying, if she’s hiding something from you - “

“You killed someone; what do you know?” Tyler snapped, crossing his arms and turning away from Josh with a huff.

He heard Josh sigh, his footsteps echoing in their cell as he walked over to Tyler’s bed.  The mattress dipped under his weight as he sat down. “I’m sorry, Ty. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Tyler forced himself to relax.  “I’m sorry, too. That was a cheap shot.  I know you didn’t want to kill that guy.” He paused for a moment, unsure if the question would be welcome, before turning back around to face Josh.  “If you don’t mind me asking...why did you kill him?”

“It’s, uh...it’s going to sound stupid,” Josh said with a laugh.

“I won’t judge you for it,” Tyler assured him softly.

“Okay, basically...I was having this stupid argument with my roommate because he did some stuff I didn’t really agree with, and I got mad, and I was making dinner at the time, so I had the knife right there, and…”

“Oh,” Tyler said quietly when it became clear that Josh wasn’t going to continue.  “I’m...I’m sorry.”

Josh shrugged.  “It doesn’t matter.  It’s in the past. I hate it here, but at least I’m not in here forever,” he added with a sympathetic glance at Tyler.  

“This is going to sound a little crazy - “ Tyler began.

Josh gestured around them.  “Like this isn’t crazy enough?”

Tyler chuckled.  “Yeah. Um, as long as you’re here, I - I don’t think I mind it so much,” he admitted quietly, blushing.

And it was true.  He really didn’t mind being in prison.  Somehow, Josh made it more tolerable.

Josh was blushing now, too, staring at the ground beneath his feet with a barely-there smile.

“I don’t mind it that much, either.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wait, so - he just doesn’t remember?”

Ruthie shook her head.  “Not a thing, apparently.  He said his cellmate is named Josh, and his hair used to be blue, but he didn’t seem to realize that it sounded exactly like - like his old roommate.  You know, before we got caught.”

“And you haven’t met this new Josh yet?” Brendon clarified.

“Nope.  Tyler was talking to him, and then he must’ve just disappeared.  It just doesn’t make any  _ sense!” _ Ruthie sighed, exasperated.  “I’m worried about him. He’s acting so weird - and that’s coming from me.”

Ryan smirked at her weak attempt at a joke, but then the serious expression that they were all wearing sank back into place.  “So are you going to talk to him about it?”

“I don’t want to tell him,” Ruthie protested.  “It’d upset him.”

“This coming from the girl who broke my nose because I said she was pretty,” Brendon muttered with a grin.

Ruthie shrugged.  “Tyler’s my best friend.  You’re just a jerk.”

Brendon glared at her for a moment, pretending to be offended, before the smile returned.  “Ryan’s prettier, anyway.”

Ruthie huffed out an annoyed breath.  “Okay, it’s cute and all, but stop. I’m trying to figure out how to tell Tyler that he has almost as much reason to be in here as I do.  It wasn’t just one thing - he’s commited murders, arson, robberies...I was his accomplice just as much as he was mine. I didn’t get us into this mess.”

“What do you mean?” Brendon asked, frowning.

“I mean that Tyler is just as dangerous as I am, if not more,” Ruthie said.  “If he really does have a cellmate, and they’re as close as he says they are, then this new Josh is in a lot of danger.  And if not...well, Tyler must be going crazier than he already was. And either way, I know someone is going to end up getting hurt.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it's been a while.  
> We've probably only got a few more chapters to go. Now that we're getting into more of the plot, things will be picking up speed and I'll probably get the next chapter up a little faster than this one.  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope it was worth the wait (although it probably wasn't).  
> Galaxy ||-//


End file.
